Beirut: A senior commander for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was gunned down on Wednesday outside his home in southern Beirut, security officials said.
The Iranian-backed group blamed its arch-enemy Israel for the killing, something officials there quickly denied.
Hezbollah immediately announced the death of Hassan al-Laqis and described him as one of the founding members of the group, suggesting he was a high-level commander close to the Shiite party's leadership.
His shooting death comes as Lebanon faces increasing sectarian violence poring over from the civil war in neighboring Syria, where Hezbollah forces fight alongside President Bashar Assad's troops, angering the mainly Sunni rebels seeking to oust him.
Hezbollah strongholds have been the target of car bomb attacks and suicide bombers attacked the Iranian Embassy in Beirut last month, killing 23 people.
Sunni militant groups have claimed responsibility for those attacks, calling it retaliation for Hezbollah's involvement in Syria.
Hezbollah said in a statement al-Laqis was killed as he returned home from work around midnight.
